In recent years, the concept of "deeper learning" has generated great interest in the field of preschool education in China. However, deep learning in the preschool stage is different from that in school education, as it requires explaining content characteristics, developing observational tools to identify deep learning, and exploring…

Programming is becoming a key subject in early education globally, with surging problems of how computer science can become a subject for children of all ages and backgrounds. Problems of implementing new technologies in the old curricula have long been noted, and lately, concern over computer science education goals is often too narrow and…

ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) large language model system, has taken the world by storm. Fearful that students would use ChatGPT to circumvent the learning process, multiple school districts in the U.S. have outright banned its use. Despite this, there are some who suggest that ChatGPT has the potential to reshape the field of education…

The 'schoolification' of early childhood education and care programs, seen as readying children for formalised schooling, has had an impact on the education of younger and younger age groups. While the focus of past research has mainly focused on 4-5-year-old children, this study shifts the focus to 2-3-year-old children and the literacy focus of…

In this article, the authors provide some insight into how teachers can potentially facilitate among students' representations and activities on mathematical tasks: between or among -- (1) student representations and the context; (2) multiple forms of student representations; and (3) processes in student representations. The authors use the…

For over 50 years, the forest school approach to nature learning has gathered momentum in the UK and across parts of Europe including Scandinavia (Knight, 2016). In other contexts such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia, nature-based early childhood education and care settings, influenced by European forest school approaches, have begun to gain…

This article compares the conceptualisations of creativity between the early childhood policy frameworks from Iran and Australia to demonstrate how cultural differences influence understandings and representations of creativity. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2019.…

Early childhood teachers routinely facilitate play-based learning experiences in their physical classrooms; however, the pivot to virtual teaching platforms created a barrier for providing age appropriate, play-based learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are few studies exploring how to promote play in the virtual classroom or…

This theoretical article examines the crucial role of play-based learning (PBL) in enhancing the mathematical skills of children in the Early Childhood Phase, referred to as Foundation Phase (Grade R-3) learners, within a South African context. The article argues that the traditional approach to teaching early childhood mathematics, where teachers…

Although reformers have embraced learning trajectories (LT, also called learning progressions) as an important tool for improving mathematics education, the efficacy and assumptions of LT-based instruction are largely unproven. The aim of a recently completed research project was to fill this void. Fulfilling this aim was more challenging than…

This article explores children's self-initiated outdoor play and holistic learning in a Norwegian kindergarten. While children's self-initiated play is valued in Nordic ECEC, it is rarely analyzed in relation to holistic learning. To explore how children's self-initiated outdoor play contributes to children's holistic learning in ECEC, we observed…

The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomena of play by exploring kindergarten teachers' perceptions of play, specifically investigating teachers' perspectives on the importance of play, the role of the educator in play, and the changing face of play in response to evolving academic standards. This study utilized the qualitative approach…

Research into pedagogical approaches used in early years' nature education, more specifically European and UK forest schools, remains according to Leather, 'undertheorised.' In a similar situation in Australia, the bush kindergarten programmes (referred to as 'bush kinders'), have had limited research attention. Influenced by European and UK…

Empirical evidence has shown that children's mathematics achievement in South African has been on the low trend. However, no study has explored the practitioners' application of conceptions of mathematical knowledge in enhancing learners' achievement in mathematics. The study examined how practitioners apply mathematical knowledge to enhance early…

Despite the extensive international overview of in-service professional development in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), the majority of studies concentrate on short-term training programmes or workshops. The existing scientific literature suggests that these approaches have either minimal or no impact on effective ECEC transformation.…